Medieval manuscript

A book or other text copied by hand in medieval times, usually on parchment or paper. Manuscripts preserve texts and reveal how people produced, used, and decorated books before printing became dominant.

Parchment: Writing material made from specially prepared animal skin. It was the principal writing surface for many medieval codices.
Scribe: A person who writes or copies texts by hand. Scribes created manuscript text, often working from an exemplar.
Vulgate: The Latin Bible translated and revised chiefly by Jerome in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. Biblical manuscripts transmitted the principal Latin scripture of medieval Western Europe.
Book of Kells: An illuminated Gospel book created around the late eighth or early ninth century, probably in the Insular tradition. Its lavish ornament shows how manuscript decoration could transform a sacred text.
Codex: A book made of sheets joined along one edge, rather than a continuous scroll. Most medieval manuscripts took this bound-book form.
Scriptorium: A room or workshop used for writing and copying books, especially in monasteries. Some manuscripts were produced in organized monastic writing spaces.
Gregorian chant: A body of unaccompanied liturgical song used in the Latin Church. Chant manuscripts recorded melodies and texts for worship.
Lindisfarne Gospels: An illuminated Latin Gospel book made at Lindisfarne around 700. Its script and interlace pages document early medieval book art in Britain.
Quill: A writing pen made from a bird feather, cut to form a nib. Scribes used quills to write manuscript text and decoration.
Exemplar: A source copy used as the model for making another text. Copying from exemplars transmitted texts while introducing possible errors or revisions.

Linked from 18 pages